Track-cleaner.



L; ISAAGS.

TRACK CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 21, 19111 Patented 119116,1912.

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APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, .1911.

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Patented Feb. 6, 1912.

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WIT/s155555 /NVENT/e LoU'Is Isaacs, or'LoUIsvrLLE, KENTUCKY.

' TRACK-CLEANER.

Specication o1'E Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 6, 1912'.

Application led April 21, 1911. Serial No. 622,488.

To all whom it 'fm1/y` concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS IsAAcs, a c1t1zen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Track-Cleaners, of which .the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus f or removing snow from railroad tracks, and its object is to provide a self-propelled car on which is mounted a melting chamber and a conveyer of novel construction, as well as a suction apparatus, the parts being so arranged that the snow is gathered and delivered into the meltingchamber.`

Theinvention also has for its object to provide a conveyer and suction apparatus of compact form, and which are so arranged that they can be placed in close proximity to the 'front end of the car, and without projecting any distance forwardly therefrom.

A further object ofthe invention 'is lto provide means whereby the water resultlng, fromfthe melting of the snow may bev sprayed on the banks of snow along the sides of the track, where it, freezes and binds the snow together, thus preventing it from drifting or being blown on the track.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be manifest from the detailed description appearing hereinafter, and in order that the invention may be better understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which drawings-v Figure lis a side elevation of the, apparatus, partly in section. Fig. 2 isa front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of the conveyer.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there is shown at 5 a car having its wheels 6 arranged for travel on the track rails 7`. On the rear end of the platform 8 of the car is mounted a motor 9 which may be an ordinary internal-combustion engine. The mo-` tor is employed for propelling the car, a suitable' drive gear being provided. The blower and other parts of the apparatus to be presently described are also operated by the motor. The platform 8 also supports a fuel tank 10.

-On the front end of the platform 8 is mounted a tank 11 which is open at the top and contains a number of pipes 12 arranged in the form of return-bend coils which are 1n vertical position, and supported in this Apos1t1on by any suitable means. The coils are open at each vof their ends and one end of each coil is located near the bottom of the tank and has av flared mouth 13. The other end of each coil rises some distance from the top of the tank and also has a flared mouth 14. Beneath the mouth 13 of each pipe is located a burner 15, preferably a gasolene or other liquid-fuel burner. If gasoleneis employed asa fuel, the supply may be obtained from the tank 10. The pipes 'serve as1 heatihg coils, the heat from the burners 15 pass'- ing therethrough from one end .to the other, Any other heating medium may be employed.

At the front end of the car is located the mouth of a suction tube v16, which extends 19 having its inlet connectedby a pipe20 to the tank, near the bott-om thereo To the outlet of the pump vis connected a discharge nozzle 21. Above the mouth of' the suction tube 16 operates a conveyer comprising an endless belt 22 carrying scoops 23. This conveyer scoops up the snow which is not taken up by the suction tube 16 and delivers it into the tank 11. The conveyer is arranged vertically,the belt 22 passing over the top and bottom rollers 24. On the shaft of thebottom roller is a pulley 25 which is belted to the motor 9. Any other suitable driving means for the conveyer may be provided.

The conveyer is provided with a housing,

the same comprising side walls 26 between lwhich the belt and the scoops carried therethe tank, two guide rollers 27 and 28 areq provided. These rollers are located behind the rear run of the belt 22 in close proximity thereto. The roller 27 is located adjacent tothe top of the front end ofthe tank 11 and the roller 28 is located above the roller. 27, slightly to the rear thereof, and close to the top roller 24. The last-mentioned roller is located above the top of the tank so that as the scoops 23 pass over the latter they dump the snow into the tank. It will be noted that the belt is located close to the front wall of the tank, and that it extends' at a very slight inclination, this arv rangement being made possible by the employment of the rollers 27 and 28.

rIhe advantage of mounting the conveyer as specified -is that it need not extend ata great inclination forwardly from the car 1n 16 order to bring its upper end over the top of the tank to properly discharge the snow thereinto, and 1ts lower end, as well as the mouth of the suction tube 16, are located lclose to the front end of the car. The con- 20 veyer is designed to remove that portlon of the snow which is not taken up by the suction tube. The width of the conveyer and the mouth of the suction tube corresponds to the gage of the track, in view of which a swath as wide as the track is cleaned.

The scoops 23 are hinged,"as indicated at 29, to the belt 22, so that they may fold over thereagainst when traveling downwardly along the front wall of the tank 11. At. the hinged ends of the'scoops, on both sides thereof, are crank arms' 30 carrying pins 31 at their outer ends which are adapted to travel in guide channelsl 32 in the side walls 26. These channels -start at the bottom roller 24 and then extend upwardly parallel to the front run of the belt and partly over the 'top roller 24. The channels startbehind the bottom roller at a point eoincldmg, approximately, with its horizontal center, and they terminate at a point a short dlstance behind the vertical center line of the top roller, and above the horizontal center line thereof. The .entrance ends of the channels are flared as indicated at 33 to assure the entry of the pins 31 thereinto.

In operation, when the scoops reach the bottom roller 24, the pins 31 enter the channels 32, whereby the scoops are held in carrying position, the crank arms 30 being arranged at such an angle to the scoops `that the latter extend outwardly from the belt when the pins are in the channel. When the scoops reach the top roller 24 the pins leave the channels, and the scoops are thus released, whereupon they flop over and dump -the load into the tank 11. As the scoops flop over and travel downwardly, they successively strike the rollers 27 and 28, whereby they are folded back against the belt to clear the front end of the tank, and they then travel downwardly in folded position along the front wall of the tank. Near the bottom, the front end of the-tank recedes, as indicated at -34, to permit the scoops to again drop outwardly from the belt. The entrance ,end of the channels 32 is so located with respect to the receding part of the tank that the pins 31 enter'the channels as the scoops drop rearwardly into carrying position, and they are thenl again held in this position by the engagement of the pins with the channels.

In operation, the snow is gathered up by the suction apparatus and the conveyer, and delivered into the tank 11, in which it is melted by coming in cont-act with the hot pipes 12. The water resulting from the melting snow is removed by the pump 19 as already described.

I do not limit myself to details of construction as shown, as these may be modiiied without departing from the spirit of my invention.l

I claim:

1. A track cleaner comprising a car, a receptacle mounted on the car, a suction apparat-us carried by the car and discharging into the receptacle, the mouth of said appara-tus being located beneath the front end of the car, and an endless conveyer discharging into the receptacle separate from the suction apparatus and having its lower end located above the mouth of the suction apparatus and in close proximity thereto.

2. A track cleaner comprising a car, a receptacle mounted on the car, a conveyer located in front of the receptacle and discharging thereinto, the rear run of the conveyer traveling in close proximity to the front wall of the receptacle, said conveyer comprising an endless belt and pivoted scoops carried thereby, means for folding the scoops against the belt during their travel along the said wall of the receptacle, and means for holding the scoops in carrying position when they clear said wall.

3. A track cleaner comprising a car, a receptacle mounted on the car, a conveyer located in front of the receptacle and discharging thereinto, the rear run of the conveyer traveling in close proximity to the front wall of the recept-acle, said conveyer comprising an endless belt and pivoted scoops carried thereby, rollers located above the receptacle behind therear run of the belt and in close proximity thereto in the path of the scoops for folding the same against the belt to clear the said wall of the receptacle, and means for holding the scoops in 1farrying position when they pass said wa 4. A track cleaner comprising a car, a receptacle mounted on the car, a conveyer located in front of the receptacle and discharging thereinto, the rear run of the conveyer traveling in close proximity to the front wall of the receptacle, said conveyer comprising an endless belt and pivoted scoops carried thereby, means for folding the scoops against the belt duringl their travel along the said wall of the receptacle, In testimony whereof I ail'iX my signature 4guide channels extendin along the front in presence of two Witnesses. n run of the belt and part y around the top I n LOUIS ISAAC-S and bottom portions thereof, crank arms on y6 the scoops, and pins on the crank arms, said Witnesses:

. pins traveling in the channels for holding JOSEPH SELLIGmnI,V v the scoops in carrying position. M. W. ADES. 

